BMW Sauber suffer mixed race performances

Nick Heidfeld just missed a podium position at the German Grand Prix. The German BMW Sauber F1 Team driver, who started from 12th, set the fastest race lap and finished fourth. Meanwhile Robert Kubica wasn’t able to gain any advantage from a safety car period halfway through the race. The Pole finished seventh, which was the same position he started from.

Nick Heidfeld: 4th BMW Sauber F1.08-07 / BMW P86/8
Fastest Lap: 1:15.987 min on lap 52 (Fastest overall)
"Coming fourth from 12th on the grid is a great result. Not making it into the top ten in qualifying meant we were free to choose our fuel load afterwards, and so we went for a rather long first stint. That’s why I was able to stay out during the safety car period when almost everybody else was refuelling. That was certainly crucial as I was able to pull away as soon as the traffic was behind me. Before that I couldn’t show my true speed as I never had a clear lap. The car was good and the fact that I set the fastest race lap proves it. In the end I was very close to Felipe, but still had no chance to overtake him. It was a good home race for me and I’m happy I could give something back to the fans who may have been disappointed by my qualifying performance yesterday."

Robert Kubica: 7th BMW Sauber F1.08-05 / BMW P86/8
Fastest Lap: 1:16.610 min on lap 17 (6th fastest overall)
"It is difficult to be happy after a race like this. During the first half of the race I was able to match the pace of McLaren-Mercedes and Ferrari. Suddenly my car’s pace was miles too slow. My tyres lost lots of grip, and perhaps this was because my tyres cooled down too much. We now have to analyse the data."

Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director): "If you start from seventh and 12th on the grid and end up collecting seven points you can be very satisfied. Of course the safety car period influenced the race quite a lot. Due to that Robert lost his strong fourth place, whereas Nick profited from this. Neither of our drivers made any mistakes. On top of that Nick set the fastest lap, which makes me very happy for him. However, there is some work for us to do to get back to the front of the grid."

Willy Rampf (Technical Director): "This was an exciting and thrilling race for our team! Robert made a good start and was able to move up to fourth in the first corners. He was able to consolidate this position, but in the safety car period his strategy meant we had to bring him in for a pit stop. Nick was on a higher fuel load and, therefore, could stay out. When the Safety Car came in again, Nick drove several very fast laps and was able to make up time on his direct competitors. In addition, the pit crew did a perfect job which enabled him to also overtake Heikki Kovalainen in the pits. Robert was struggling with the heavy car and warming up the prime tyres properly, so as a result was not in a position to set the best possible lap times anymore. We can be pleased we scored seven championship points today under difficult circumstances."